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| 12th February 2006 |
WINDOWS TIPS |
Brian Grainger |
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It is amazing how long you can be using a piece of software before you realise all the things it can do. Just recently, I came across three different useful functions that either I had forgotten, or did not know about. Two relate to copying files and the third relates to functionality added to Internet Explorer 6 with Service Pack 1. In addition I have added a tip for using a Synaptics mouse pad on a laptop. Ever since Windows Explorer appeared I have moaned that copying files from one folder to another is not as easy as it was with the File Manager. I know I have mentioned it more than once on these pages. The problem is I like to see the source and destination folder, so I can be certain the copy is taking place correctly. On the Windows 98 I use there is another peculiarity I have found. When dragging a file to a folder in the left window pane the folders will suddenly start scrolling UNLESS the destination folder is THIRD on the list displayed! I have never seen this mentioned by anybody, or a solution for it, but it can often mean the file ends up in the wrong folder! Better to see the contents of the destination folder. I have written in the past about using a script file to create two tiled Explorer windows on the desktop, so you can drag and drop between the two. This is great when you have a lot of copying to do. However, there is another solution that is useful when there is only a small amount of copying. You can open up two copies of Explorer. In one display the contents of the source folder and in the other display the contents of the destination folder. On the taskbar you will have two Explorer task buttons. You can use these to drag and drop. Click the source folder button on the taskbar to ensure the source folder is displayed. Select the files you want to copy and drag them to the destination folder button on the taskbar. You CANNOT drop them on the button. Just hover with your finger on the mouse button awhile and the destination folder will automatically be expanded. Then you drop the files in to the folder! I never knew you could do that until I read about it elsewhere. Now for a copying tip I found by accident. You may have noticed the web pages have a common style in this section of the ICPUG web site. I have a mirror of the files on my hard drive. I also have a blank.htm file that is a template for all the features pages. When I want to create a new feature I copy the blank file and give it an appropriate name. For years I have been copying blank.htm as follows:
One day I as I was right clicking for copy I managed to move the blank.htm file and noticed that a little square with plus sign appeared - the sign for copy. This led me to the simple way for copying within the same directory.
While it still looks like four steps, it is all done in 1 mouse click with a flowing movement. Much easier. Now for the Internet Explorer tip. You need version 6 with Service Pack 1 installed, (at least). I have been using Internet Explorer since IE 4 and when malware was written that could be triggered just by viewing loaded e-mails I had to take action. First, I turned off the preview pane - so that I could not accidentally view a loaded e-mail. Then, before viewing any e-mail I was not sure of, I would save the mail as a file and open it in a text editor. Any nasty executables would not be triggered within a text editor and I could see if there was anything suspicious in the e-mail. If it was cleared I would then open it as normal in IE. This process worked, but was time consuming. Some time ago I installed IE6, not by choice, but because it was necessary to continue use of Hotmail. IE6 is far more vulnerable to today's malware than IE4, so I installed some critical updates, which required Service Pack 1 (SP1) to be installed. Ever since then my PC often hangs when I am viewing web pages offline - but that is another story. What I didn't know was what SP1 brings to the party. Just recently, I had cause to look at the font settings for Outlook Express. Selecting Tools - Options from the menus and then selecting the Read tab I was about to click the Fonts button when I saw the option: Read all messages in plain text That was not there before, I thought! Anyway, I selected that option and now I can read my e-mails without worry and without having to save them to a file first. Now, why did no-one tell me that when SP1 came out! (Actually, it is in the readme.txt file that comes with the installation). Finally, a tip for laptop users. Many laptops have a Synaptics mouse pad, on which you tap and slide your finger to simulate mouse clicking and movement. However, I never knew how to simulate the scroll wheel. Once you are used to a scroll wheel it is quite irritating to be without one. I had noticed that sometimes I managed to scroll down the vertical scroll bar, but I did not know how I managed it and I could not repeat it at will! About 9 months after I got my laptop I decided to have a look at the mouse properties! On my XP based laptop I have a little icon in the System Tray that will allow me to do that. The alternative is to select the Start Button, then Control Panel and then Mouse. (Settings - Control Panel - Mouse from the Classic View Start menu). The tab to look at is Device Settings. I normally associate this with the gobbledegook of hardware device settings, but not in this case. Click the Settings button and you get a very interesting display relating to:
Obviously, Virtual Scrolling caught my eye so I had a look. I will not go into details here but, basically, the right hand edge of the mouse pad, when stroked, will cause vertical scrolling. No wonder it only happened intermittently for me. If you stroke the middle, nothing happens! Similarly, the bottom edge of the mouse pad, when stroked, will cause horizontal scrolling. You can set the area of the pad that will trigger scrolling and there is also a virtual scrolling tutorial and maze game to practice scrolling. Now, normally I would not repeat basic instructions on this web site, but when I saw this stuff I immediately thought about other members of Stevenage ICPUG with laptops. I have never seen them scrolling like this. At the next meeting I showed off my new found skills to one of the members and asked if he had known how to scroll. He hadn't - and he had had his laptop for longer than me! If two of us did not know about scrolling I guessed it might be useful information for others, so these words were written. Of course, what it also shows is that I do not always follow my own guidance -RTFM! Do as I say - not as I do! |
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